BURGLAR ALARM SYSTEMS

Today, the most common form of security we see in everyday life is the burglar alarm system. There are more manufacturers of alarm systems than you can shake a stick at. When you walk in somewhere, look around the front main entrance and you will probably see a keypad. Look in the corner where two walls meet, and chances are you will see a motion detector. What’s that hanging from the neck of the cashier? That’s a pendant panic button, or “hold-up” button for emergencies. If there is a big glass window in the front of the store, you will also see a glass break detector, so don’t drop that bottle of soda on the way to the register!!! What would you say if I said you could disarm your alarm system from the car in the driveway, and walk in with your groceries or child in hand? It’s true!!! Its called a keyfob, and it has an amazing range to arm, disarm, or even send a panic symbol in case of an ambush by an unwanted person following you into your house when you get home. For the homeowners who have a shed or garage, we can separate your alarm system into multiple areas. That means you can get home, de-activate the house and still leave the garage or shed armed. Or, if you are going to carry something outside to the shed, you can disarm it from your house on your way out there.

For the hard to wire places such as your finished basement, living room, or 2nd floor there is now wireless devices with an amazing range! There are wireless supervised devices such as door and window contacts, wireless smoke detectors, heat detectors, key fobs, motion detectors, and more. The electronics in these devices are supervised so it will send a signal to the central station requesting a change of battery, someone tampering or removing the cover to the device, as well as your normal unauthorized entry. The key fobs are not supervised so you can remove from the site without the panel going into trouble and sending trouble signals.

On the wired devices, we put what’s called End-Of-Line resistors to monitor the device. If any person or animal tries to cut the cable going to the device whether the system is armed or not, it will immediately send a trouble signal to the central station. Without these resistors, we could have potential problems with the operation of the system.

Another thing to consider would be a radio back-up dialer. The radio can be used as a primary means of communication but it is not recommended. With a dial tone, the system can actually tell the central station exactly what is going on with what zone, the average radio can only send a burg signal, or fire signal. There are radio’s that will send all of the info required, but as of right now in my opinion they are not cost effective for small to medium business or residential installs.

Combination panels are another thing common to most small to medium business and residential burg installations. When you hear the word “combo panel”, it refers to a burglar/fire panel. Although most burglar alarm panels will have the capability if 2 and 4 wire low voltage smoke detectors, combo panels have built-in horn/strobe circuits. The installation company just has to know the math because these panels only put out so much amperage on this circuit and it is very easy to put more devices on the line than the circuit can actually handle. If you see a horn/strobe not blinking as fast as some of the others, or if the horn just doesn’t sound right, it is probably to much draw on the circuit and we should consider using an external bell module and power supply with sufficient amperage. The greatest thing about these panels is that they are an all in one. Your fire system is active 24/7, and your burg can be turned on and off at will.